1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to consumer shopping, and in particular, to assisting a consumer, via a customer-merchant key coupling, with offline shopping and electronic payment transaction.
2. Related Art
The advent of mobile devices equipped with almost the full-blown power and capacity of personal computers such as smart phones, iPod, tablets, etc., changed significantly the landscape of shopping, not only in an area of making payments, but also in other areas by a number of new methods and tactics previously unimaginable and inapproachable in the conventional shopping modes. When shopping online or offline store, a consumer was typically provided numerous options for payment, such as cash, check, debit card, and credit card. However, as more and more consumers are using smart phones, they may be less inclined to pay with such funding sources as a physical wallet or purse. Furthermore, such funding sources may be unsafe or unsecure, e.g., possibility of a consumer losing cash, credit cards or check forgeries.
Payment providers, such as PayPal, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., offer payment services to consumers with added security. As such, an increasing number of consumers are using third party payment providers to make payments. Such a trend is especially prevalent with online transactions. The third party payment providers can be easily accessed from a device such as PCs, smart phones, or tablets via an installed application therein, and used for payment from the accounts of customers with them. Further, such third party payment providers can provide useful services, using smart phones of the consumers who have an account with them and their servers connected thereto, for the benefit and convenience of both the merchants and the customers.
At times consumers suffer difficulties, and even feel frustration, during shopping while wandering about in the store, not knowing what to buy and/or which item(s) to choose out of so many choices. Many such difficulties come from lack of accurate information on quality, brands, prices, reputations or user's evaluations of products. Sometimes customers need advice on selecting suitable items as gifts to their families or friends or on better options or alternatives from someone with more experience and knowledge. Finding store clerks and asking for their opinions may help, but in many occasions, they may be hard to reach. Or, some customers may feel it too awkward or cumbersome to approach them, explain all the special circumstances under which the customer is searching for particular items, and seek their recommendations.
Therefore, a need exists to provide consumers a way to obtain professional opinions or guidance in shopping, more easily and conveniently, from someone, such as store sales clerks, who happens to be already equipped with the knowledge of each consumer's individual shopping preferences or special needs.